The Impossible Dream

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Jamie
Our RAE new title ribbon.

Our RAE new title ribbon.

Last Saturday, Risa earned her RAE title in AKC Rally. For those not familiar with the qualifications, a dog must compete at both the Advanced and Excellent level at the same trial and qualify in both (at least 70 points out of a possible 100) ten times to earn this title. We did it. We did it in 11 tries. We only NQ’d once; the first time we tried for it. It was that day that I decided we needed to work harder on focus and we took a year off of rally.

The RAE was the title I never thought we’d achieve.

I remember, a year or so after Risa joined the family, watching our dog trainer work towards the RAE with her dog. At the time, AKC didn’t allow mutts to participate so we were out of luck. Risa wasn’t ready anyway. She was still super fearful and dog reactive. I didn’t even think a CGC was possible, let alone the RAE.

The Excellent level of rally also still contained the Honor exercise which I would never have asked Risa to do. During the Honor, one dog did a sit or down stay on the course while another team completed it. I couldn’t risk an altercation if a dog came over to visit Risa.

A few years later, AKC decided to allow mutts to play some of their games. Shortly after that, they eliminated the Honor from the Excellent level. Both decisions opened the door of opportunity for us to try.

We struggled with rally. I often wondered if Risa enjoyed it at all. I even attended a seminar with Jane Killion who stated “This is really aversive to her and I don’t know why” when she watched us train in rally. There were several times I almost gave up on it. But, like so many things with Risa, giving up has never been an option. 😉 We struggled. . .but we persevered. I worked hard on incorporating more play and fun into our sessions. I bumped up our work on focus. I took online courses through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy to increase my skill level and figure out how to make rally more fun. The change was amazing. While Risa still lost focus on courses occasionally, it was much more brief and she was able to get back on task quicker. I had a dog with me more and more often. As we got closer and closer to those final RAE legs, I was finally proud of our performances.

I have to be picky about where Risa trials; she’s had some bad experiences in a couple venues. We could have finished our RAE sooner but I decided we’d finish it on our home turf at our club’s January trial. It also happened to be the weekend of Risa’s 12th Birthday celebration.

Our winter has been mild this year but it finally got cold in December. Risa’s had arthritis for several years but, this year, age finally caught up with her. She’d been hesitant to jump into the car and was starting to barely make it up on the bed. She slipped twice on linoleum flooring and came up on three legs holding her left rear up off the ground. Then she tried to jump onto the bed one morning and her back end didn’t make it. 🙁 Risa finally got old. 🙁 🙁 🙁

It was 2 weeks before the trial. I took her to the vet and he recommended laser therapy. She’d had two treatments before our big day. Friday before her first shot in the ring, she jumped up into the bed and (barely) made it! It was improvement but I was still worried about trialing her. I decided to make it her decision. If she got to the trial site and said “no way,” we’d try again another time. I wanted our final leg, our title run, to be fun for us both.

That morning, she wanted to work. She was smiling and happy so I decided we’d go for it. I wasn’t able to get her to warm up like usual; she wouldn’t do certain tricks I know she loves to do. I knew it was because it hurt. She did great on her Excellent run though I could tell clearing that second jump was hard for her. By the time we got in the ring for Advanced, she definitely wasn’t feeling 100% but she still wanted to go. I think she chose with her heart and not her head. She was more distracted but still did her best. We qualified in both runs: a 94 in Excellent and a 96 in Advanced. We earned our RAE title.

The moment was bittersweet. We did what I never thought we’d achieve. I honestly never thought we’d try. But, every time I was about to give up, a door opened that encouraged me to proceed. We did it. WE DID IT! But now we were done with AKC rally. 🙁 There was no higher mountain to climb. And I had to finally admit that my dog was getting old and was far closer to retirement than I ever thought possible. Even though she was able to work and enjoy herself to earn that final leg, I wasn’t going to ask her to do it again. I had hoped to just run her for fun the next day but I knew she was done. She stayed home on Sunday and didn’t trial.

Her arthritis has only been worse since. The laser treatments haven’t helped and she’s starting to be more panicky about going to the vet’s office than usual even though she enjoys the treatments themselves. Her doctor prescribed some Tramadol to help ease the pain. It’s still not enough. 🙁 Our next step is consulting with our TCVM vet again and seeing if some acupuncture will help return my smiley girl to her usual self.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with Risa over all these years it’s that we don’t give up. We will find a way to make it happen. 🙂 That’s just how we roll.

Posted in AKC, Dog Sports, Fear, Fenzi Academy, Jane Killion, Laser Treatment, Rally, Reactivity, Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Training, Veterinarian | Leave a comment

But She KNOWS This!

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Jamie
Sorry. But I have no idea what you want.

Sorry. But I have no idea what you want.

Lately I’ve been working with Risa on her fundamentals. Mainly positions (right-side heel, fronts, behind) and working on her transitions for freestyle. I never really trained those things well since I was in a big hurry to get to the fun stuff and didn’t realize at the time how important the foundation behaviors were. Her understanding of left-side heel is pretty good but it’s still easy to confuse her at times. It’s also clear that some of her tricks aren’t under stimulus control as well as I thought either. 😉

I was focusing on fronts with her the other night after struggling to teach her an in-front side pass using a pivot platform. She did okay and we were making progress that way but it was clear she didn’t understand that “front” meant be straight in front of me regardless. Risa wanted to swing into my sides instead. This isn’t surprising. She has a much higher reinforcement history for side positions. I decided to pull out the platform to help reiterate that fronts are straight and to help her be correct so I could reward her.

Risa is familiar with the platform but I haven’t used it lately. I felt I relied on it too much and used it too long creating a dog who understood the position with the board under her paws but didn’t actually know the position without the aid. I also haven’t really needed it for her left-side behaviors which are very strong and I was able to use a smaller pivot platform to help her polish her right-side behaviors. When I plopped the platform down to work on fronts, Risa didn’t stand square on it. She’d fidget or stand half on. I was a bit dumbfounded. “She knows this!” I thought to myself. “Why won’t she just get all four paws up there so I can click!?”

It’s not that she doesn’t know it. Just that she’s out of practice. I haven’t worked on it in a while so she isn’t quite as fluent in the behavior as I had expected. It’s not surprising, really, but it’s something to keep in mind and something we often forget. Just because a dog “knows” it doesn’t mean they “know” it forever. Case in point, I studied Spanish for 7 years in high school and college. I was pretty fluent. I knew how to conjugate verbs in various tenses, knew the phonetics of the language, and even used to watch movies dubbed in Spanish to hone my skills. It’s been years since I’ve conversed, written, or tried to understand anything in Spanish and so I’ve lost my fluency in it. I have no doubt that the information is still all there in my head; I would simply need to start practicing it again and it would all come back to me.

Our dogs are no different. The knowledge is still there but it just needs to be activated again. It didn’t take long at all for Risa’s light bulb to go on and for her to realize what her criteria was for standing on the platform. Then we were able to work on fronts properly. It is, however, something to keep in mind when we work with our dogs. One may never forget how to ride a bicycle but you need a bit of practice to get good at it again if it’s been a while since you’ve done it!

Posted in Thoughts, Training | Leave a comment

Experienced Teacher

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Jamie
It's amazing how much her confidence has grown with other dogs.

It’s amazing how much her confidence has grown with other dogs.

I’ve mentioned before that Risa is my teacher dog. Sometimes I feel like she’s out to teach me everything one could possibly experience with dog ownership! From fearfulness, reactivity, raw feeding, homecooked dog diets, cancer, GI problems, traditional/holistic medicine, chiropractic care, dog sports, dealing with frustration, clicker training, etc. . . I’ve learned a lot from her. The newest thing she feels I need to learn is how to deal with a dog who wants to say “Hi” to everyone.

Yes. You heard me right. My fearful, reactive dog now has difficulty not going up to people and dogs she doesn’t know. “How is this a problem?” you may ask. Part of this new development is nice. After all, she’s more likely to investigate a dog who gets too close rather than try and aggressively chase him away. This allows me to relax a bit more (which is a nice change!). However, she’s starting to want to check out everyone and every dog. If we see a person, she’s drawn to them. When a dog is nearby, she wants to see who they are–especially if they turn away from her. Her nose is drawn to their rear like a magnet!

I find it hard to get upset with her; curiosity is the opposite of fear. But I worry she’s going to try and sniff the wrong dog setting off a reactive meltdown (possibly for both dogs). She also may find a dog who, after the initial greeting, wants to play. I know she doesn’t want to play with every dog she meets and this forwardness on the part of the other dog could set her off and potentially cause more negative experiences with dogs which she doesn’t need. It’s also a problem because it’s causing a loss of focus and concentration when she’s supposed to be working with me. It doesn’t help that people are unintentionally reinforcing her curiosity by petting her either.

It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve had to tackle this issue with several of my foster dogs. The main issue with Risa is, as always, focus. She needs to learn when it’s okay to meet and greet and when she has to work. But the blame can’t fall onto her. I’m not always clear with her on when it’s okay to greet and when it’s not. When I do allow her to say “Hi,” I’ve forgotten to release her with a “Go say ‘Hi'” 90% of the time. So I need to be more consistent. I also need to find people who can follow directions and not continue petting my dog when I’ve made it clear I want her working with me and not visiting. (This is probably the hardest part because, even in our training classes, people feel obligated to pet her when she ditches me to investigate them!)

Who would have thought I would have this problem with my dog? It’s great to see her more comfortable and confident. However, I also have to keep in mind that she is not confident. Yes, she is still fearful of people and dogs. Some of the people she investigates are fine until they try and pet her. Then she backs away. Some of the dogs she meets are also potential playmates. . .but she won’t play with a dog she’s just met. It’s sort of sad, really, to see a dog initiate play with her and watch Risa turn and walk away. It just takes her time to warm up to new friends. After several meetings, I have no doubt she’d be willing to romp with her new buddy. It just won’t happen right away.

I also know other dogs, in general, still cause her some stress and anxiety. We’ve been practicing group stays in our obedience class (even though I have no intention of doing them in competition) and she’s done really well. However, if another dog even shifts position, she shows minor stress signals like lip licks. I reward her heavily during these sessions as I know it’s incredibly difficult for her and I want it to be a positive experience. But it’s just further proof that she’s only more confident in general. . .yet still a fearful dog at heart.

Makes me wonder what else she’s out to teach me next. I still have a lot to learn. 🙂

Posted in Fear, Reactivity, Thoughts, Training | Leave a comment

Proud Momma

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Jamie
Waiting our turn. Being last sucks.

Waiting our turn. Being last sucks.

I’m incredibly proud of Risa today. She was an absolute rockstar at the rally trial. This was our first time at this location and I was a bit nervous. I don’t like not knowing what to expect; I like to plan things really well so Risa can succeed and feel safe. On top of that, with the exception of Friday, every day this week was too cold for us to go for our walks. I was really worried I was going to have a stir crazy dog on my hands!

I needn’t have worried so much. While she was mildly stressed by the new trial environment, she was not terrified. I never expect her to enter a new place and be like “Oh new place? Lots of dogs and people I don’t know? Whatevs. We’re cool.” Mild distress is to be expected. But even our long-time trial buddy commented on how much calmer Risa seemed in the new environment. Ris didn’t even mind the dogs in close proximity even if they inadvertently ended up in her face! She even felt comfortable enough to get all up in people’s stuff and had to investigate every single person that walked by. It got a little frustrating that she was magnetized to everyone but it’s hard to get mad at her. Curiosity is a good thing in a fearful dog!

Even though I struggled to get her focus on me while we were preparing to enter the ring (something that is a huge stressor for me), she was really good in the ring. I still lost her several times but no where near as badly as I used to. And, when she did wander, it was easy for me to get her back and refocused on the task at hand. (I tell you, having a dog who really REALLY understands heel position is a lifesaver when she’s a wanderer too. I just need to recue “fu

Posted in AKC, Dog Sports, Dog Training Seminars, Fear, Fenzi Academy, Rally, Reactivity, Training | Leave a comment

Risky Business

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Jamie
What would your dog do if another dog broke position? What might happen if your dog moved during the stay?

What would your dog do if another dog broke position? What might happen if your dog moved during the stay?

It’s not news to anyone that I am not a fan of group stays in canine sports. The main reason being that my dog cannot do them. Oh she can do a stay amid distractions. She can even do them with dogs nearby (and she would rock them even harder if we actually practiced them). The issue is that she is afraid of dogs. I won’t put her in a situation where she could be frightened during a show in the ring. The ring is a safe zone for her and I will do whatever I can to never have anything bad happen there. I actually am fine with the concept of a group stay. It’s a different problem that makes it potentially dangerous.

That brings me to the point of this entry. Too many dogs in trials are not ready to trial.

I hate to say it but I see it and hear it a lot. Owners who have entered their dog in the trial and they’ll “see what happens.” Attitudes like that are what make group stays potentially dangerous. You don’t know how well-proofed the dog in the ring with your dog is. You don’t know how comfortable he is with other dogs. Even if the dog manages to do well during the obedience portion of the event, you can’t always determine that the dog will be solid during stays. It’s a game of Russian roulette. Sure, most dogs are friendly and most dogs in trials are solid dogs. But not all of them are.

If you aren’t sure how your dog is going to behave in the ring, if you really aren’t sure they’re ready to compete, do everyone a favor and STAY HOME. You’re not proving anything by showing a dog who isn’t ready and you could potentially set up another dog and handler team for a very bad time. If your dog fails to stay 40% of the time during class or when you’re proofing things on your own, why on Earth would you put him into a trial? Are you able to envision your trial performance? Do you have a pretty good idea of what your dog is going to do in the ring? Is it enough to meet the requirements set forth? If it’s not, STAY HOME.

I know no one can accurately predict 100% how their dog will perform in the ring. Dogs (and their handlers) get ring nerves. And, no matter how well you’ve prepared your dog for distractions, I don’t think anything truly replicates the craziness and pressure of a trial. So, regardless of how well you have trained your dog, odd things can happen. 😉 But really think about your dog. If something goes a slight bit amiss, is he a danger to anyone around him? Does he have the potential to scare another dog or person even if he means well?

I just can’t understand why anyone would attempt to trial their dog if they didn’t think their dog was ready. We all get nervous before we show and hope we’ve prepared our dogs well enough for the trial. But if you KNOW you haven’t prepared your dog well enough, you shouldn’t have entered him. Not only is it a bad idea for all the above reasons. . .it’s a huge waste of money! Showing dogs isn’t cheap (the RAE title in AKC can cost you upwards of $600 and that’s assuming you qualify each and every time you attempt to earn a leg). Why would you throw your money away when you know your dog has a slim chance of qualifying?

We want to have fun with our dogs when we show. It’s amazing to see the bond between the species and I love watching a team work together in the ring. But be honest with yourself. If you haven’t put forth the effort to prepare your dog for the trial properly, just stay home.

Posted in Dog Sports, Fear, Obedience, Rally, Reactivity, Thoughts, Training | Leave a comment